Dan Dakich is a former interim head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers men’s basketball team who now hosts a sports radio show and serves as a commentator. He has once again reignited the long-running debate over the WNBA’s growth and Caitlin Clark’s impact on the league.
Discussing the league’s rise in popularity and Clark’s role in driving it, Dakich argued that the WNBA owes its current attention almost entirely to the Fever star. This claim caused a stir and drew pushback from fans and a former ESPN anchor.
Fans Clap Back at Dan Dakich Over Caitlin Clark Comments
Speaking on his show, Dakich argued that the criticism of the league’s promotion and treatment of Clark amounts to hypocrisy by people who hadn’t been paying attention to women’s basketball before her arrival.
“Isn’t it amazing? Where were you 30, 20, four or five years ago? I tell you where we were. We were watching baseball,” Dakich said.
“And then Caitlin Clark came along and once Caitlin Clark came along, you became a real league. I know you were supposedly a great player. I know Diana Taurasi. I understand. I do. I swear to God, Tamika Catchings, I get it. But nobody cared. You did.”
He continued: “But now you got big eyeballs and you don’t want the big eyeballs… Because of Caitlin Clark, you became a real league.”
Former ESPN anchor Cindy Brunson pushed back on Dakich’s framing in a public post, writing: “The WNBA has always been a real league. The product was NEVER the problem, it was the lack of promotion,” and asking, “What more can the league do to embrace that young woman?!? The Fever are the ONLY team to have all 44 of their games nationally televised. Give it a rest.”
1. The @WNBA has always been a real league. The product was NEVER the problem, it was the lack of promotion.
2. What more can the league do to embrace that young woman?!? The Fever are the ONLY team to have all 44 of their games nationally televised‼️
Give it a rest. https://t.co/YvMuD64BM1
— Cindy Brunson (@CindyBrunsonAZ) August 14, 2026
Reaction from WNBA fans was largely critical, with one X user claiming Dakich had previously said, “Are you the same Dan Dakich that called Caitlin Clark a pain the [expletive] that everyone on the Fever hates? I’m not sure who is more two-faced, you or Jason Whitlock.”
Another user decided to take shots at the WNBA and wrote, “LOL love you Dan, but they never were, and never will be a real league.”
LOL love you Dan, but they never were, and never will be a real league.
— DC (@cpf_taxed) August 14, 2026
One user summed up a broader sense of exhaustion with the recurring debate, saying, “I’m tired. The plot has been essentially lost.”
I’m tired. The plot has been essentially lost.
— Tiffany Meeks (@TiffanyMeeks23) August 14, 2026
Dakich’s comments extend a debate that has run through much of this WNBA season over how much of the league’s rising attention is owed to Clark, and how well that attention has been handled.
The fan response also followed a familiar pattern, split between agreement and fatigue; however, one fan’s verdict captured the essence of the matter: the plot has been lost
